Ask the Readers: How Often Do You Cook at Home?

I cook at home all the time! I make a meal and make sure to make a lot to have leftovers for at least 3 days. I make a lot of casseroles with chicken. I do not want to cook every day. It is time consuming. But I love Crock Pot Meals because they are easy to make and I use two Crock Pots because I am cooking for 4 people, and I need leftovers. Making a lot of dinners at once and eating the leftovers really will save you a lot of time!

I cook every day. My go to quick meal is pasta with marinara sauce

Lately I've been trying to cook more, about 3-4x a week, but I would love to eventually cook almost every day. It's just hard living in NYC where there's so much good food to be had and you have to lug around your groceries.

We make all our meals these days!

My family eats most of our meals at home. Maybe 5 lunches and perhaps a "date night" dinner during the month.

Cook most meals at home with fresh ingredients from the vegetable garden

We cook just about every dinner at home. My tips: plan the week's meals in advance, make a grocery list, and only grocery shop once per week. I also sometimes do prep for the week's meals on Sunday afternoon -- chop veggies, assemble sauces, etc. This helps a lot during the week! For nights we have something going on, I do something simple like tacos, BLTs, or quesadillas.

DH and I eat at home 9 times out of 10 and I pack leftovers for lunch most work days. We aren't perfect and when overtime for both of us coincides or when one of us is ill we may eat out more often or order in Won Ton soup.

I cook 3 out of 7 night per week, and usually some leftovers for another meal.

I cook everyday. If I'm in a hurry I just cook steak which only takes a few minutes. I do bulk cooking on weekends to last the week.

I cook dinner about five times a week and take leftovers for lunch! It's much more cost effective than eating out and I can make healthier versions of my favorite things.

My family cooks almost all the time - it's so much cheaper and often tastier. Plus I enjoy cooking!

We have every meal at home except one or two a week out. I used to hate the idea of a menu plan, but it gets me to cook every night without making the same thing too much.

Around three or four times per week.

I cook on most Sundays and Tuesdays. Because I have an extra job and work late on Mondays, I try to cook the day before so I won't go out to eat and will have leftovers. Cooking twice a week works well since dinners last 2-4 days. On some days, I choose meatless options to save even more.

I never cook at home, but my husband cooks at home 4-5 times a week. We eat with my parents once a week, and we have one or two dinners of take out.

I cook at home almost everyday for my family, friends, and guests. I love to be in the kitchen.

I cook at home about 80% of the time. On weekends is usually when we eat out. Week nights rarely unless I'm sick or something. I make my husband's lunches he takes to work to eat and I make my own at home for myself (housewife). Some of my go to dishes are stir fry, fish (sauté, bake, or in parchment paper), and curry. Easy dishes for when I'm tired my favorite is pasta aglio olio (pasta with garlic and olive oil) - it's cheap, easy and sooo good!! Make pasta and sauté garlic in olive oil, mix with pasta and season salt and pepper; top with a little parmesian grated. Another is baked potato; also cheap and easy. For those new to cooking I recommend thinking seasonally (what's good in cold weather?) and using YouTube to help you learn how to cook - it's free and visual. Above all be brave enough to try new things; a world of cuisine awaits.

I made a deal with myself to cook dinner every weeknight for my family. This was after years of take out 2-3 times during the work week which I justified by the fact that I was a working mom with two young kids and my husband gets home after dinner time most days. It was tough going at first but once I got into a habit, it didn't feel like a burden anymore. Now I easily can get through an entire week (including weekends!) without takeout. We're not talking fancy meals every night but I've learned to stock certain staples so that even if all I can whip up is something super simple and basic, it's still better for us health-wise and money-wise to cook. Take-out is now a genuine splurge we enjoy from time to time rather than an immediate go to for those busy days.

I cook most meals, most days. Instant meals would generally be pasta with meatballs from the freezer [usually homemade - though someone just trying to stop the takeout machine could buy them - trader joes has good ones] or a meatloaf that I churn out in batches of 6-8 on a planned day and freeze. Fried rice is good if you have leftovers and leftover rice LOL - quick and cleans out the fridge.

I also make a lot of baked items that go in the freezer - just put away a few batches of flash frozen bacon pancakes that will toast into easy breakfasts - english muffins, waffles and muffins are good too - if you make enough to last a while and do this once a week you'll wind up with a good variety - breakfast sammies can be premade this way as well - my kids won't eat them though ;)

Best advice I can give is that if there's something you eat regularly by choice [not panic mode necessity] then learn to make it, make a lot and freeze it - then add another favorite to the rotation - it will give you an easy meal when you need it - pasta sauce is a good choice, soups too, ground beef dishes freeze well and reheat easily [for less people you can freeze a meatloaf sliced and just defrost as needed]

I'm less impressed with frozen cooked chicken - I often cook a tray of some sort of chicken and just leave it in the fridge - can be reheated, shredded to use in a million ways - soups, enchiladas/tacos, salads etc. But then I have a teenaged boy and food never goes to waste in there . . .

It is a rare night we eat out. I batch cook every Sunday, and sometimes Saturday afternoons to make a couple dinners and my husband and my lunches for the week. During the week we usually have a crockpot meal on Wednesdays and quick to put together meals Thursdays and Fridays. I make a tentative meal plan and shopping list before I grocery shop every Saturday. I grow a big garden in the summer and a small garden in the fall. I grow at least 2-3 herbs inside all year around. We budget 150 dollars a month for food and we usually come in under that number. I am a dietitian, so that amount includes lots of fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains. About 10% of our purchases are processed foods that are boxed or canned (coconut milk, tomato paste) With such a small food budget, it is almost impossible to stay within our budget and eat out at fast food or a restaurant.

I never used to cook at home despite a love of cooking. Because I was always preparing food for just myself, it always seemed 'easier' to order in, hit up Carrabba's car side service, or sneak in a fast food meal on my way home. Then I began noticing how much money my lazy habit was depleting me of, and I do not earn a substantial salary as an administrative assistant to begin with. I was not actually committed to addressing my problem until I happened upon a garage sale in my neighborhood with my Mother one Saturday morning. I approached a table filled with books, and, upon closer inspection, realized that the majority were in fact cookbooks. And one pile of magazine-like cookbooks looked remarkably like something I knew instantly that I needed to have. They were how-to's for both beginner and advanced chef's who were trying to perfect by simplifying rather than perfecting by cramming a recipe full of unnecessary (and expensive) ingredients. So, I purchased three seasons worth of these how-to's, bundled and tied together in date order with twine, for $1. BEST $1 I HAVE EVER SPENT! Now I cook these tried and true (and in most every case) economical recipes seven nights each week, taking leftovers for lunch to work the following day, or food-saving and freezing them for later. Since February of 2014, around the time I became fully committed, I have run my budget numbers based on old bank statements versus what I am spending now, and have found a savings to myself of $1,848. That is counting what I was spending out as well as what I spend weekly on pre-arranged groceries based on the recipes. And I almost never go out for lunch anymore except when I join co-workers for a birthday or other celebration. Spending on food and beverage anymore, hurts my head as much as it hurts my wallet!

I cook 5 times a week. I'd do it more but my husband finds it a real treat to order carry out on the nights I work late and once on the weekend.

I cook at home several times a week, but we do go out to eat on a regular basis.

I cook almost every day. Eating out is just a special occasion thing usually with a coupon/Groupon. I also pack my lunch 4 days a week.

We cook almost all our meals at home. Maybe go out once or twice a month

When I'm in the groove of being good I cook at home every night. When I fall off the wagon (dining out is my worst spending habit) I might only cook at home 2 nights a week. I'm trying to be more consistent, but I'm not a very good cook.

I cook every meal at home, except for maybe 5x a month we get lunch out. I shop once a week and try to buy a new ingredient each time, so I can have fun with cooking and so we don't get bored with the same meals. I like to prep things ahead of time, so I do a lot of crock pot cooking. I prep at night, and in the morning it goes in the pot, then I don't have to worry about it all day.

I usually pick one day a week and cook a few things that day that I hope will last for a while! Soup is one of my favorites. You can pack it full of healthy vegetables and beans, make a ton at once, and freeze it if you have leftovers.

I cook at home 7 days a week for the most part!!! We do not eat out hardly ever, sometimes we will get take out or order a pizza, but that is about once a month maybe.

We cook almost everynight and on weekends breakfast and lunch is cooked too. I pack my lunch everyday for work.
Dining out is about once a month, we like Thai food.

I cook almost every night. We are on a tight budget for food. So eating out with a family of 6 rarely happens for us!

We cook at home almost everyday, breakfast, lunch and dinner. We average about 1 dinner out per month and my husband grabs lunch out 1-2 times per month.

I'm a senior and retired. I love to cook and usually make our dinners every evening. We like to go out for breakfast or lunch once a week.

I cook at home daily! Sometimes my hubby take us out for dinner on Saturdays or Fridays. (When the paycheck and our budget allows us to have that break). I'm currently saving for "emergency funds" and vacations so that's why I'm making that huge effort! I like getting variety at the grocery store so my family will have variety on the table everyday! I have a meal plan I changed every Sunday and I got everyone's ideas to make it more fun for them! Breakfast, Lunch (including the hub's) and Dinner are all by me on a daily basis except today that I'm sick and my husband cooked for me :)

I cook every meal at home, twice a day, seven days a week. My wife has been out of state for over a year now to care for her elderly parents, so I have to round up recipes and dive into preparing my own meals. So far so good.

I cook a lot of meals at home! I do eat out 3-5 times a week, depending on how busy things get or how much I want to treat myself. I'm trying to cut back on both my grocery spending and my restaurant spending though. This week, I have a 7-day meal plan all mapped out-- 7 quick breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. I'll be shopping on Sunday and eating delicious, cheap food all week!

Every day! LOL My Homeschooled teen wants to be a chef so he cooks for us. When I cook, I like to do some prep work in advance like brown 10 lbs of hamburger up into 1 lb bag & freeze for quick meals. We rarely eat out but love to snack when out shopping. Last night we took advantage of Burger Kings 10 piece chicken nuggets for $1.49. Not a bad deal for on the run.

Myself? Only once or twice a week. But my husband does most of the cooking - and it's rare for us to eat out (once or twice a month max)

I try to cook at home most days, and bring lunch from the leftovers or something I made at home, but I am not as good at resisting going out as I like, weekends especially I tend to grab something out when running errands.

Almost every night. Cooking a nice meal is my favorite way to unwind after work!

We cook at home almost every night, but we do often use boxed starter kits, jarred sauces, and/or frozen veggies to save on time and personal energy.